Aspiring hip hop and rap artists from Blackpool’s own FY Wingz performed at the event, which was hosted by Jonzi D and Jay Madden.

Aishley Docherty, 27, assisstant choreographer at FY Wingz on St Annes Road, said: “ As part of the festival we performed not only free-style dance sets and a choreographed dance piece that was based on Romeo and Juliet, we also did a rap.

“We performed a group piece called The Funky Flow.

“It’s about young people in Blackpool who want to earn some respect, talking about the town and how they want to be the future generation of hip hop. It talks about their aspirations and dreams.

“It was brilliant and went really well. We got a really good response from the crowds.”

The youngsters then took to the stage at The Grand alongside top international hip hop dance crews including Antoinette Gomis from France, Iron Skulls from Spain, and The Ruggeds from the Netherlands.

Aishley said: “They absolutely smashed it and they got a standing ovation from the crowd.

“A lot of hard work and heart had gone into it from everyone and to get that sort of respect and recognition was brilliant.”

Proud mum Leah Houghton’s 10-year-old son Louie performed his own rap at the festival.

Nurse Leah, 38, of Merton Terrace in Lytham said: “I felt really proud of him. He knew there was an open mic event going on on the afternoon so I knew how nervous he was. He wanted to do really well and impress Jonzi D and Jay Madden so there was a lot riding on it.

“He performed fantastically and everyone has given him really good feedback on how well he did. He’s absolutely brimming with pride.”